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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

I would like to thank all the family, friends and neighbours who visited the recent Mt Chocolate exhibition
to have a look, showed a lot of curiosity and got Mike thinking even
more. 150 visited the exhibition during the week which was a good
turnout given the location. In addition 20 attended (child and a parent
together) a creative workshop by Mike for dyslexic minds.

Thanks are also given to;

Ari Edgecombe, Jan Ormsby, Frazer Murdoch, Steve Solomon and Elaine Matheson from the South Alive Arts Group for help with arranging and setting up the exhibition.

Nikki Aaron and Cress Evans from the office, Peggy Peek and Margaret Cook and the other South Alive
Trustees for making the gallery available. Peggy for her wonderful
welcome to guests at the opening.

Monday, July 24, 2017

I like designing with models. Then I make drawings. Usually the models are fully designed in my head in 3D before I even start. The models are for testing, tweaking, sharing with others. The models aren't precious - more like doodles.

I have done this for the last 40 years. Sculpted portraits of people are also done in my head before I pick up some clay. It makes it all very enjoying because I can then work from imagination and dreams.

When I worked in engineering for many years, welding and fabricating, I found I was able to look at drawings and build a 3D model in my head before starting work. A portable set of plans!

I design sets, landscaping, IT systems etc this way.

It drives other people nuts because they can't see what's going on till a model appears.

The recent Mt Chocolate - The Exhibition was put on for family, friends and neighbours. They were bugging me with questions about why I was doing the landscaping first and building last. And what were all the yellow pegs for!

Mt Chocolate is the name we have given our piece of land where we are planting a future native swamp forest reserve and building a home and art studio.

During the last week plenty of family, friends and neighbours came and had a look at the models, drawings, photos, and the beginnings of a handmade book about the project.

Here are some photos taken by Greg Fordyce during a recent club visit by members of the Southland model Engineers to have a look at the models. Thanks Greg !

"Michael Paul Smith's Elgin Park:
A 1/24th-scale recreation of everyday scenes from mid-20th century America, ranging from the 1920s to the mid-1960s

What started as an exercise in model-making and photography became a dreamlike reconstruction of the town Michael grew up in. It's not an exact recreation, but it does capture the mood and feel of his memories.

Photos posted on Flickr went viral, attracting millions of visitors from around the world. Michael's work has since been featured by media around the world.
The buildings are constructed of resin-coated paper, styrene plastic, and basswood, plus numerous found objects. The vehicles are from Michael's collection of 300+ commercially produced, diecast models.

No Photoshop was used in these images; they're all composed in the camera. It is the oldest trick in the special effects book: lining up a model with an appropriate background, then photographing it"

While still having fun in England, Fellow Southland Model Engineers members, Eric and Pam Shackel have had the chance to visit the amazing 1/24th scale model of Hogwarts Castle used for exterior shots in every ‘Harry Potter’ movie. A short time-lapse of the making of this huge model is here.

The time worked out to build this model with the 86 artists and crew members equated to 74 years and it is 50 feet across filled with 2500 fibre optic lights.

I need to design costume for some characters. Not knowng how to sew - where do I start?

Last week I heard an interesting interview on National Radio about a film The life of Zac Posen: Sandy Chronopoulos. "The House of Z is a film following the meteoric rise of New York fashion
designer Zac Posen. The film is the debut feature for Sandy Chronopoulos
who spent a year with him to film it."

The interview talked about how Zac learnt how to design by draping fabric on dolls. I thought to myself. That could work for me. Especially if I sculpted the physical form and personalities of the characters first.

"Draping is the art of manipulating fabric directly on the dress form in
three dimensions. It is the most creative way for a designer to turn
design ideas into reality"

A great Youtube interview with Hartford Stage costume designer Barry Sellers explain how he does works up a design by draping fabric on a Mannequin.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Mt Chocolate Exhibition
Discover the hidden story behind the building of a home and art studio on Mt Chocolate, a new native bush area in Clifton, Invercargill. The exhibition at the South Alive Art Gallery from 16 to 23 July, open 10am - 4pm is by local filmmaker and sculptor Mike Peters. On display will be architectural models, landscape & botanical photography, design and construction drawings and a handmade book of the project.

A creative workshop for Dyslexic students will also be held at the same time in the South Alive Hub taught by Mike and organised by Dyslexia Support Southland.

Design Process
The models on display are working models used to work out the form and proportion of the interconnected buildings, how they sit among the trees and look in the glowing skies. The buildings are to be built by Mike with the help of family and friends for himself and Tracy who left Christchurch after the earthquakes. The art studio will be used for art work for film, theatre and museums.

Mt Chocolate
Mt Chocolate is 1Ha, has been landscaped and is being planted in native plants similar to those found at Seaward Bush and Waituna. A feature of the bush will be Southern Rata surrounding a sphagnum moss wetland and a mosaic of plant communities. The owners will eventually seek legal protection via a QE2 National Trust Covenant.